Lunch at the Mekong River – Vietnam Photo Tour Guide

Continued from my first post about Where to stay in Vietnam..

This took a while to get together.. but now its here.. This is part 2 of the series of articles about vietnam and my tour around the mekong river.. ok lets proceed to lunch first and let me tell you what i say in the mekong river in the next part of the tour.

We took the mekong tour but didnt join any group we got a boat and car all to ourselves and it was all worth it, it even came out cheaper than taking the tour from the travel agencies.. met a travel agent their and he seemed really nice, he was the same guy that arranged the stay and tour for the zone v camera club on-the-spot shooting contest. The guys name is Mr. LAM his website here http://fantastic-tour.com Mr. Lam has yahoo messenger so you can chat with him even before your trip!

We finally got to the restaurant along the Mekong River Delta and enter what seemed to be an old house, converted into a museum and restaurant at the back area.. this is just one of the many restaurants lined up along the shoreline of the mekong river..

Vince gets excited to have lunch.. the boat ride was quick since you get lost with so many new things to see around… finally we get to eat the local stuff!

Talk about Fresh fish.. here is our lunch .. after catching the fish, they are put on the ground for some short prayer and…boom!

This is the part that I wasnt sure I’d show.. a little primitive but gets the job done.. the girl hits the fish to send them to fish heaven so they can prepare our lunch..

Here is the fish .. its called the elephant fish similar in taste to “tilapia” but the skin on this one is really thick… you have to brush off the scales to savor its tender meat..

preparing us some wraps of elephant fish with mixed vegetables also called banh cuon or wraps in modern lingo.. she teaches you how to do it then will ask you to do it after.. got it on my 2nd try since i was stuffing too much fish inside.

notice the soup? really healthy stuff.. was a mix of carrot, corn, singkamas some minced meat and peanuts.. yes peanuts.. it gave it a very earthy taste that filled my belly with a warm weird sensation.. but it was good!

Also on the photo, some rolls and some fried flowers.. yes flowers.. dumplings not wrapped in flour.. but dumplings in a flower! how did it taste? fresh.. it felt like you were eating dumlings wrapped in some Romaine leaves but scented and sweet to taste.

Here is the fun part.. eating the tiger prawns.. i can still taste it now.. yummy and juicy.. had to take a photo before it vanished on the table..

Vietnam is known for its fruits.. no cake or fancy stuff here.. even their ice cream is garnished with fruits… and fruit shakes are more popular than drinking any cola.. I wonder why the Philippines with all the fruit we have, we seem to drink cola more..

jackfruit, pineapple, bananas and grapefuit.. sweet and so much better than the dried fruit packs sold in the market.

The Mekong tour is a good experience for any traveller, it gives you a glimpse of the how simple life is in Vietnam. You see how they eat and live and do business on the mekong river.. very different from the floating market in bangkok.. bangkok seems to be a show.. while this one is real, where people buy and sell their crops and fruits to anyone interested. Thats it for now.. watch out for the photo tour of the mekong river… continued in part 3 of visiting Vietnam.

Vietnam Hotels – Where to stay in Vietnam

Am back! i dont know where to start.. the trip was fast and fun.. I was in vietnam from May 16-22 (not as long as you think since cebu pacific leaves 10pm on the 16th.. and leaves vietnam 1am on the 22)

Let me start the trip by telling you how the immigration people in vietnam woke me up… got off the plane, did the usual then proceeded to the immigration booth, the officer gets my passport and asks me for my visa.. then i paused a bit, sleepy and tired from the late flight wondering if i really indeed needed a visa.. he asked me again.. where is your visa.. I said what visa? he said i need your visa.. (thoughts of being deported back to the philippines entered my mind… hehehe) i calmly replied, I am from the Philipines and I dont need a Visa… I think he wasnt too sure about that, he stood up and seemed to look for his supervisor but no one was around.. he sat down looked at me once again (as if to confirm that i was filipino) and stamped my passport.

Let me start with the Vietnam Hotels – Where to stay in Vietnam

Zone V was coming to vietnam too and they settled in

LacVien Hotel

28/12-14 Bui Vien St., Pham Ngu Lao Ward,
Dist.1, HoChiMinh City, Vietnam
Tel: (84.8)9204899 Fax : (84.8)920 4900
Mobile :0903392585- 090 803 5789
Email : lacvienhotel@hcm.fpt.vn Website : www.lacvienhotel.com
hotel rates : Click here for rates

Here are other hotels recommended by our friend in Vietnam, Captain Vincent Manalo of Vietnam Airlines.

Than Hai Long hotel
267-269 Le Than Ton st.

downtown…very close to ben thanh market $25 for a standard room. Room is clean has toilet bath tv ac but no window so if your a bit claustrophobic then its a problem. Price already includes breakfast. www.tanhailonghotel.com.vn

Spring hotel
44-46 le than ton Dist 1

$32 standard room…very nice. has bright room clean and moderately spacious. $41 for double occupancy. Also in the downtown area. also includes breakfast. Highly recommended. www.springhotelvietnam.com

Tan Son Nhat hotel

Near Airport about 15 min from downtown…30-45 min if traffic. Nice rooms. $30 incl breakfast and up to $4 for laundry(shirt and jeans). If you don’t mind being a bit far from downtown this is a good pace.

There are other budget places in the backpacker area. These are clean but no frills. Just a place to put your things while walking around saigon. you can get a big room for about $20.

Hotels in dist 1 or 3 are practically in the middle of the downtown area. They may be a bit more expensive but you can save on transportation. Pham Ngu lau is the backpacker area. this place is cheap and rooms are clean but don’t expect much else.

At certain times of the year, it is probably cheaper to fly to Vietnam then to fly to some local destinations in the Philippines!

For more information about Tours and Hotels, you can Contact Mr. LAM ym= vietnamfantastic and his website is http://fantastic-tour.com/

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I originally wanted to put everything in one post but it seems to be impossible to cram everything i did in one post.. it might get a little too boring .. so let me stop here and compose the next part of my vietnam trip… and this time with more photos!